Town purchase of Straska Farm in Rocky Hill heads to referendum

Anthony Straska testified that he uses tractor trailers on the property to grow tomatoes and other vegetables.

Anthony Straska testified that he uses tractor trailers on the property to grow tomatoes and other vegetables.

(Jim Welch/jwelch@courant.com)

Kathleen Mcwilliams

When Cheryl Champagne moved to Rocky Hill 43 years ago, just a few blocks from Straska Farm, the town was still a farming community, mostly free of big development.

“As many people have said, it was a rural town,” Champagne said at a public hearing Monday. "Over the years I watched it get developed. At the same time, I watched Straska Farm change from a beautiful farm to a junk yard. It’s become a huge eyesore.”

The New Britain Avenue farm has been a sore subject in town for years, but that could change if Rocky Hill voters approve a $7.2 million bond for the town to purchase the property during November’s election. Town officials said the property would be leased out to local farmers or used as passive recreation space.

The purchase of the farm would protect the property from future development.

"One of our claims to fame in Rocky Hill is that we have one of the oldest continuously running ferries in service. Suppose if that and Ferry Park were torn down and replaced with housing, hotels, condos and vape shops?” resident Gloria McLean said.

Monday’s public hearing drew support from residents who believed preserving the land would be beneficial to the town. Only a few expressed reservations about the cost of the plan and the town council unanimously agreed to put the $7.2 million in bonding on November’s ballot.

According to town land records, the 84.5-acre farm is owned by Anthony Straska, known locally as “Tony Tomatoes." The property has been farmed for more than 300 years, but in more recent times has been the subject of legal battles.

In 2005, the town went to Superior Court to force the removal of all unlicensed vehicles on the property. That case closed in 2007, with an agreement that Straska would relocate the vehicles and the town would erect a fence along New Road. The fence was never built, and the number of vehicles and abandoned equipment on the property increased.

In 2014, the town approached Straska about purchasing the property’s development rights, but discussions broke down over price. The property is currently appraised at $8.4 million.

In 2015, town officials cited the property for blight, highlighting a number of dilapidated structures, as well as abandoned vehicles and heavy equipment on the property.

Lisa Gilbert of Gilbert Farm said local farmers would be willing to use the land. Gilbert uses 40 acres of land on the banks of the Connecticut River to grow vegetables and is “at the mercy” of the river’s floodwaters every spring.

“I think it is vital that we preserve this farmland. We do have some young agriculturists coming along for whom this would be a good opportunity," Gilbert said. "We are at the mercy of the Connecticut River. When it floods, our crops are under the river ... if we had an opportunity to farm upland, especially 85 acres, this would help the existing agricultural farmers.”